They’ve been around for a few years – but now their prime time has come: They’re the latest thing in school playgrounds and the trend is rapidly spreading across the globe. At the same time, discussions are raging online regarding this little toy (or should we say tool?), and some schools even banned it.

Started out as a “mystical object” online

It kicked off a few months ago when a famous Counter-Strike professional player used a fidget spinner in the technical break during an e-sports event.The commentators could not figure out what this mystical object was, and they zoomed in to try solving the mystery. Meanwhile, the discussion also started online – and gamers all over the world started to order their own fidget spinners once they got the name of it.

It’s interesting to see how marketing online has changed, and now products do not even have to be introduced to kids in order for them to get obsessed with it. There is so much information online, so by not telling everyone what it is – the kids and teens trying to figure it out themselves will create the buzz.

From a stress toy to global success

So what is a fidget spinner and what does it do? It is simply a toy you can keep in your hand, and it has a bearing in the centre and several prongs that spin around it. Moreover, YouTube stars are constantly finding new hacks and tricks for the fidget spinner – and for a higher price, you can also get more complex and cooler spinners.

Why is it banned by some teachers?

Fidget spinners were designed to help people with conditions such as autism and ADHD to enhance concentration, reduce anxiety and stimulate learning. Some teachers agree, and say that the toy helps some kids to pay attention in school. However, a lot of teachers are also raging on social media, claiming that the fidget spinners are becoming more of a distraction in the classroom than a relief and therefore decided to ban the toy altogether. Experts on the other hand also seem to have mixed views on their overall efficacy…

No matter the designed purpose, the fidget spinners are being used because they’re fun to play with. Kids love it, and even some adults. Have you or your kid tried it yet?

Do you think it can work as a helpful tool in education or a plain distraction?

About the author:

Ingse Bergh Monsen, Momio

Ingse is the Norwegian Community Manager, and has worked for Momio since 2014. She has a Master’s degree in Service Management with a minor in Sustainable Business. Besides her field of education, her interests include exploring good business ethics, service management and exciting social media phenomena.

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“Oh, she has such a nice life! Why am I not as happy/active/smart/lucky as her?” “Did you hear that…?””Oh, s**t **** **** that really hurts!” Recognise the behaviour? Jealousy, the urge to gossip and bad language are behaviours and feelings that most grown-ups, including yours truly, deal with on a regular basis. It is not something we are particularly proud of, but we all have those feelings every once in awhile. Nothing weird about that, as long as you keep it to yourself and don’t let it out on others.

However, adults often expect children not to be jealous, not to gossip or use bad language – but to somehow stand above behaviour that can hurt others. They think that children don’t have the behaviours and feelings that can be hurtful. Well, sometimes they think that children do, but maybe not their kids.

Sometimes I talk to parents who have a really difficult time accepting that their children are behaving badly on Momio. They tell me that their children would never use bad language or be mean to others. Yet, kids are mean to each other sometimes. They get really jealous of other children and write all the nasty words they know – just to try them.

The problem is not that the kids are pushing boundaries or are jealous. However, there is a problem if we don’t teach them WHY they have these feelings and HOW expressing them can hurt others.

We think that it is important that the grown-up society acknowledges and accepts children’s’ “flaws”, just as much as we acknowledge those of adults. Kids are not perfect, and they are not supposed to be. Just think about it: If we live in the constant belief that our kids never feel or act badly in any way, who will teach them what to do when they actually do feel or act like this towards others?

About the author:

Johanna Ternander, Momio

Johanna is the Swedish Community Manager and has worked for Momio since 2016. Besides Community Manager tasks, she also handles Momio’s external social media channels. With a Master’s degree in Media Studies, she has a deep interest in exploring the social media phenomenon – from blogs to cute animal videos.

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Some of our young users try to find a boyfriend or a girlfriend on Momio and some older ones are furious about this:

“STOP writing that you are single. Momio is NOT a dating site.”

They are of course right, Momio is not a dating site, but it is not forbidden to look for a boyfriend or a girlfriend on Momio either. The reason for this is quite simple: Having a boyfriend or a girlfriend means something different to children than it means to us adults. After finding an online boyfriend or girlfriend and committing to them, kids are mostly interested in receiving sweet words and emojis from this new partner. With sweet words, I do not refer to sexual content. (Such things are indeed forbidden on Momio!). I read it as:

“You look beautiful today. WOW, I like your new outfit on Momio!”

or simply:

“👧❤️️👦😻👭😘😂”

What does it mean to have a boyfriend/girlfriend online?

When observing children’s (social media) behaviour we often use terms and understandings from our adult world, judge and quickly jump to conclusions. However, in kids’ universe, concepts such as intimate relationships are not clearly defined yet, they differ from kid to kid and distinguish from our understandings. The thing that really separates kids’ relationships from grown-up ones is that children’s relationships aren’t sexual. Kids are first and foremost looking for someone to talk to, share thoughts with and receive attention. They are looking for an online friend than a grown-up relationship. When looking for a relationship, kids often have very specific conditions and criteria, which are utterly important.

If you want to be my boyfriend, you need to be online very often. Three times a day actually. Otherwise, I will find someone new to write with.

Relationship = friendship?

Once a child feels like she is not receiving enough (online) attention or even that she has to share attention with another user, an emojinal break-up is very likely to follow. Even though kids’ online relationships are more like friendships, it is utterly important to them that their boyfriend or girlfriend makes them feel unique and only has one partner.

Relationships on Momio are more like exclusive friendships with sweet words and emojis. This is the reason we do not forbid our young users asking for a girlfriend or boyfriend.

Momio is a community where children can be among themselves, find friends, share opinions, learn from mistakes and shape their understanding of their online as well as offline world around them. If calling an online friend girlfriend or boyfriend is a part of that, we are okay with it.

About the author:

Lill Hennschen, Momio

Lill has been employed as a German Community Manager since May 2013 and works with content creation, online safety and translation. She has a Bachelor degree in Humanities and Communication and a special interest in equality studies. Besides this, she volunteers for Red Barnet Ungdoms project MobSquad – an initiative trying to prevent bullying and segregation in primary schools.